William Blair

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Journal of an Era

3/14/13

In 2011 the Richards Civil War Era Center launched the Journal of the Civil War Era, a peer-reviewed periodical of 19th century American history. According to associate editor Anthony Kaye, the new journal is playing a substantive role in revitalizing the field.

Montage of graduate studies at Civil War Research Center

Richards Center trains next generation of Civil War scholars

3/13/13

From its original mission of interpreting and reflecting on the transformative experience of the Civil War itself, Penn State's Richards Civil War Era Center and its scholarship now encompass themes spanning Atlantic World slavery, emancipation, constitutionalism, the expansion of democracy, religion and social movements, women's rights, immigration, western expansionism, war and society, and the struggles of labor. In addition to fostering this forum, the Center is training scholars who are making significant contributions in the field.

Untitled

Journal of the Civil War Era honored among top periodicals

5/16/12

The Library Journal, the largest and most respected trade publication for the library profession, has selected The Journal of the Civil War Era as one of the 10 best new periodicals of 2011. The Journal of the Civil War Era is published jointly by the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center in Penn State's College of the Liberal Arts and The University of North Carolina Press. William Blair, director of the Richards Civil War Era Center and Liberal Arts Research Professor of American History who serves as the founding editor, said "I am especially pleased that The Library Journal cited not only the meticulous research behind our articles but also that the work remains accessible to a general reader."

Richards Civil War Era Center succeeds in NEH Challenge Grant

11/16/10

Penn State's College of the Liberal Arts and the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center have exceeded an ambitious fundraising goal of $3 million, after securing a $1 million challenge grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH). With the support of one of the NEH's largest We the People Challenge Grants and alumni philanthropy, the Richards Civil War Era Center has become a national leader in the study of not only the Civil War era, but also the larger struggle for American freedom ranging from slavery to civil rights.

book cover of “lincoln’s proclamation”

Off the Shelf: Book reviews from the editors of Research/Penn State

8/24/10

Freedom's Facets

Lincoln's Proclamation: Emancipation Reconsidered (University of North Carolina Press)

Abolition is often understood through the lens of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. However, according to eminent historian Richard Hofstadter, the Proclamation itself "has all the moral grandeur of a bill of lading." What were Lincoln's true motives for issuing it? What place did he see for black men and women in the future American society?

Catching up with William Blair

5/12/09

If you could solve a single mystery in your field, what would it be?

Why the public has such a difficult time understanding slavery as a cause of the Civil War.

When you're not on campus working, where can you most often be found?

On the tennis courts

Where is the most interesting place you've traveled?

Paris

Untitled

Heard on Campus: William Blair on the Confederate flag

10/15/08

"On the Confederate flag: "Southern friends like to tell me that they come north to central Pennsylvania and they say they've never seen so many Confederate flags as here, and it puzzles them." - William Blair, director of the Richards Civil War Era Center and professor of American history.

Who won the Civil War?

4/20/05

As a Civil War historian, Bill Blair has led his share of battlefield excursions. He has herded alumni over the fields and ridges of Gettysburg and walked with high-school teachers at Antietam. But another of Blair's missions is to decipher the broader lessons of the war, its causes and its legacies. His new book, Cities of the Dead, examines the turbulent history of Civil War commemorations in the South, the role these civic rituals played in Reconstruction politics and race relations, and their lasting impact on the way the war is remembered.

Journal of an Era

3/14/13

In 2011 the Richards Civil War Era Center launched the Journal of the Civil War Era, a peer-reviewed periodical of 19th century American history. According to associate editor Anthony Kaye, the new journal is playing a substantive role in revitalizing the field.

Montage of graduate studies at Civil War Research Center

Richards Center trains next generation of Civil War scholars

3/13/13

From its original mission of interpreting and reflecting on the transformative experience of the Civil War itself, Penn State's Richards Civil War Era Center and its scholarship now encompass themes spanning Atlantic World slavery, emancipation, constitutionalism, the expansion of democracy, religion and social movements, women's rights, immigration, western expansionism, war and society, and the struggles of labor. In addition to fostering this forum, the Center is training scholars who are making significant contributions in the field.

Untitled

Journal of the Civil War Era honored among top periodicals

5/16/12

The Library Journal, the largest and most respected trade publication for the library profession, has selected The Journal of the Civil War Era as one of the 10 best new periodicals of 2011. The Journal of the Civil War Era is published jointly by the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center in Penn State's College of the Liberal Arts and The University of North Carolina Press. William Blair, director of the Richards Civil War Era Center and Liberal Arts Research Professor of American History who serves as the founding editor, said "I am especially pleased that The Library Journal cited not only the meticulous research behind our articles but also that the work remains accessible to a general reader."

Richards Civil War Era Center succeeds in NEH Challenge Grant

11/16/10

Penn State's College of the Liberal Arts and the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center have exceeded an ambitious fundraising goal of $3 million, after securing a $1 million challenge grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH). With the support of one of the NEH's largest We the People Challenge Grants and alumni philanthropy, the Richards Civil War Era Center has become a national leader in the study of not only the Civil War era, but also the larger struggle for American freedom ranging from slavery to civil rights.

book cover of “lincoln’s proclamation”

Off the Shelf: Book reviews from the editors of Research/Penn State

8/24/10

Freedom's Facets

Lincoln's Proclamation: Emancipation Reconsidered (University of North Carolina Press)

Abolition is often understood through the lens of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. However, according to eminent historian Richard Hofstadter, the Proclamation itself "has all the moral grandeur of a bill of lading." What were Lincoln's true motives for issuing it? What place did he see for black men and women in the future American society?

Catching up with William Blair

5/12/09

If you could solve a single mystery in your field, what would it be?

Why the public has such a difficult time understanding slavery as a cause of the Civil War.

When you're not on campus working, where can you most often be found?

On the tennis courts

Where is the most interesting place you've traveled?

Paris

Untitled

Heard on Campus: William Blair on the Confederate flag

10/15/08

"On the Confederate flag: "Southern friends like to tell me that they come north to central Pennsylvania and they say they've never seen so many Confederate flags as here, and it puzzles them." - William Blair, director of the Richards Civil War Era Center and professor of American history.

Who won the Civil War?

4/20/05

As a Civil War historian, Bill Blair has led his share of battlefield excursions. He has herded alumni over the fields and ridges of Gettysburg and walked with high-school teachers at Antietam. But another of Blair's missions is to decipher the broader lessons of the war, its causes and its legacies. His new book, Cities of the Dead, examines the turbulent history of Civil War commemorations in the South, the role these civic rituals played in Reconstruction politics and race relations, and their lasting impact on the way the war is remembered.